The opening-minute fights between Canada and the United States during the round-robin matchup in the 4 Nations Face-Off have garnered many headlines since it all went down.
However, one of the more interesting storylines that emerged from it was how the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/watch-jt-miller-drops-gloves-as-canada-usa-begins-3-fights">three American fighters</a> (JT Miller and Matthew &amp; Brady Tkachuk) had planned the whole situation over a group chat.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Brady Tkachuk walked us through the group chat that rocked the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/4Nations?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#4Nations</a> 📱<a href="https://t.co/0I2qoezcJY">https://t.co/0I2qoezcJY</a> <a href="https://t.co/AmF7OLsgDT">pic.twitter.com/AmF7OLsgDT</a>
&mdash; Spittin&#39; Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) <a href="https://twitter.com/spittinchiclets/status/1894455854126006465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The specifics of the group chat were unknown for a while, but we got a bit more insight when Brady Tkachuk joined the Spittin&#8217; Chiclets podcast on Tuesday to talk about the planning that went into the opening-minute shenanigans.
<blockquote><a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/nhl-notebook-pair-stars-drawing-trade-buzz-tkachuk-hits-tonight-show-more">Matthew</a> and I were talking, if we have this opportunity, how sick would it be to do something? This was months ago. If we were both on the same team in Montreal, how sick would that be? So we were joking around about it. And then at the start of the tournament, we got to know [Miller] and he was an awesome guy. And we just joked around like, &#8220;Oh, we gotta do something nuts.&#8221; In Montreal, we&#8217;re the villains.
And then we go down for a nap, and I just remember I was about to fall asleep, Matthew was about to fall asleep, and all of  a sudden our phones pop up, and Millsy texts &#8220;are we serious about starting tonight?&#8221; because that&#8217;s what we were joking about, all three of us started and then we&#8217;re going right away. I think Matts and I facetimed, saying we gotta keep this going.
We get to the game, and I was still thinking maybe it&#8217;s not gonna happen, we&#8217;d been joking about it. And then we find out at the four-minute mark going onto the ice for the anthem who they&#8217;re starting. And then Matthew&#8217;s like &#8220;Alright, I got my guy&#8221;. And then he pulled me aside to say &#8220;After [my fight], you&#8217;re going to the bench, grab [Sam Bennett]. And then Millsy&#8217;s got Colton Parayko because he asked him in warm ups.
I&#8217;m not gonna lie, I was so nervous for Matthew&#8217;s flight, because I&#8217;m like, &#8220;Okay, center ice, I can&#8217;t have you getting your ass kicked.&#8221; I was trying to like give him advice, but all I could say was, &#8220;Yeah, f&#8212;ing right, yeah!&#8221; I was so nervous before, then that happened and I was like, &#8220;I might not be able to wait to the whistle&#8221;. I just have to go right now, I&#8217;m so fired up.
I went to the bench, asked Benny, and it was pretty funny. Benny was like, &#8220;yeah&#8221;, looks back at [Jon Cooper] and is like, &#8220;I&#8217;m going&#8221; and Coops just nodded his head, and I&#8217;m like &#8220;alright, here we go.&#8221;</blockquote>
Miller and the Tkachuks&#8217; found themselves on the winning end of that round-robin matchup, with the Americans beating the Canadians 3-1, but the Canadians got the last laugh when they won in the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/instant-reaction-team-canada-silences-team-usa-3-2-overtime-win">Championship Game 3-2 in overtime.</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-139755" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/TradeDeadline-2025_programmatic_Article-727x404-2.png" alt="" width="728" height="405" srcset="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/TradeDeadline-2025_programmatic_Article-727x404-2.png 728w, https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/TradeDeadline-2025_programmatic_Article-727x404-2-300x167.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /></a>
Get ready, hockey fans! The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff Deadline</a> is happening on March 7th from 11 AM to 4 PM Eastern, and you won’t want to miss it. We’ll be LIVE, breaking down every trade and big move as it happens, with instant reactions and expert analysis from the Daily Faceoff crew. Plus, we&#8217;ve got special guests lined up throughout the show, offering exclusive insights from some of the biggest names in the game. From blockbuster trades to surprise moves, we’re covering it all. Tune in to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff YouTube channel</a> and follow Daily Faceoff socials on March 7th to catch all the action!

The opening-minute fights between Canada and the United States during the round-robin matchup in the 4 Nations Face-Off have garnered many headlines since it all went down.

However, one of the more interesting storylines that emerged from it was how the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/watch-jt-miller-drops-gloves-as-canada-usa-begins-3-fights">three American fighters</a> (JT Miller and Matthew &amp; Brady Tkachuk) had planned the whole situation over a group chat.

https://twitter.com/spittinchiclets/status/1894455854126006465

The specifics of the group chat were unknown for a while, but we got a bit more insight when Brady Tkachuk joined the Spittin' Chiclets podcast on Tuesday to talk about the planning that went into the opening-minute shenanigans.
<blockquote><a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/nhl-notebook-pair-stars-drawing-trade-buzz-tkachuk-hits-tonight-show-more">Matthew</a> and I were talking, if we have this opportunity, how sick would it be to do something? This was months ago. If we were both on the same team in Montreal, how sick would that be? So we were joking around about it. And then at the start of the tournament, we got to know [Miller] and he was an awesome guy. And we just joked around like, "Oh, we gotta do something nuts." In Montreal, we're the villains.

And then we go down for a nap, and I just remember I was about to fall asleep, Matthew was about to fall asleep, and all of  a sudden our phones pop up, and Millsy texts "are we serious about starting tonight?" because that's what we were joking about, all three of us started and then we're going right away. I think Matts and I facetimed, saying we gotta keep this going.

We get to the game, and I was still thinking maybe it's not gonna happen, we'd been joking about it. And then we find out at the four-minute mark going onto the ice for the anthem who they're starting. And then Matthew's like "Alright, I got my guy". And then he pulled me aside to say "After [my fight], you're going to the bench, grab [Sam Bennett]. And then Millsy's got Colton Parayko because he asked him in warm ups.

I'm not gonna lie, I was so nervous for Matthew's flight, because I'm like, "Okay, center ice, I can't have you getting your ass kicked." I was trying to like give him advice, but all I could say was, "Yeah, f---ing right, yeah!" I was so nervous before, then that happened and I was like, "I might not be able to wait to the whistle". I just have to go right now, I'm so fired up.

I went to the bench, asked Benny, and it was pretty funny. Benny was like, "yeah", looks back at [Jon Cooper] and is like, "I'm going" and Coops just nodded his head, and I'm like "alright, here we go."</blockquote>
Miller and the Tkachuks' found themselves on the winning end of that round-robin matchup, with the Americans beating the Canadians 3-1, but the Canadians got the last laugh when they won in the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/instant-reaction-team-canada-silences-team-usa-3-2-overtime-win">Championship Game 3-2 in overtime.</a>

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-139755" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/TradeDeadline-2025_programmatic_Article-727x404-2.png" alt="" width="728" height="405" /></a>

Get ready, hockey fans! The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff Deadline</a> is happening on March 7th from 11 AM to 4 PM Eastern, and you won’t want to miss it. We’ll be LIVE, breaking down every trade and big move as it happens, with instant reactions and expert analysis from the Daily Faceoff crew. Plus, we've got special guests lined up throughout the show, offering exclusive insights from some of the biggest names in the game. From blockbuster trades to surprise moves, we’re covering it all. Tune in to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff YouTube channel</a> and follow Daily Faceoff socials on March 7th to catch all the action!

Brady Tkachuk walks through infamous group chat with former Canuck JT Miller

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